Elain’s best-case scenario was to figure out who was behind planning the nuke, poofing into their house, and calmly executing them. Authorities would call it a heart attack or stroke or something, the nuke would remain unexploded, and only one guilty person would die in a manner far better than they deserved, considering the terror, death, and destruction they wanted to sow.
“We sure as hell aren’t figuring it out tonight,” Lina said, her chin propped up in one hand, her elbow on the table. “I can barely keep my eyes open.”
“Sorry I rousted you guys,” Elain said. “I wanted to tell you before I forgot.”
“No, it’s okay.” Lina sat back. “We’re all spitballing, here. We need to immediately bring everything to each other for a big-picture analysis when we get new info. I think it’s safe to say when the…eh, mood strikes us, as it were, I’m sure it won’t be any big sacrifice on their parts for our respective guys to tag-team us.” She sat forward again, frowning. “I’m wondering…maybe up in Maine we need to go to the rock pile and try a massive—”
“No!” Elain said. “No magick, no rituals there, nothing. We don’t understand what it can do or how it was built. That’s like pointing a blowtorch at an unlabeled barrel of chemicals just to see if it’ll blow up or turn out to be soap.”
Lina stuck her tongue out at her. “Spoilsport.”
“You’re sleep-deprived,” Mai said. A yawn hit her. “Then again, so am I.” She slowly pushed herself up from the table. “So if you’ll excuse me—”
“Wait. The thinking spot.” Lina looked at them. “What if we each take our guys to Lacey’s thinking spot? The rock? Individually, I mean. Not all of us at once.”
“We might be looking at the all at once option if we don’t make any headway soon,” Elain said.
“I started thinking earlier,” Zack said, “about the IED stuff you saw on that TV show. Maybe the whole plan is to make people think it’s a terrorist attack.”
“It is a terrorist attack,” the women said in unison.
“No.” He leaned forward. “I mean, maybe they’re trying to frame Islamic militants or something. We might be looking at this wrong. The big picture might be the cockatrice want to trigger a massive war between the US and some unknown ‘other’ so they can reap the rewards of that catastrophe in more ways than one.”
Elain pondered that. “I don’t know. It doesn’t…it doesn’t feel right,” she said. “There is a bigger picture, a reason for them setting it off, but I don’t think we’ve figured it out yet.”
Lina stood. “Okay.” She yawned. “Mai’s passing out contagious yawns, and I’m exhausted. We’ll meet again in the morning.” She pointed at Mai. “Your turn to host.”
“Good. It means I don’t need to get dressed.”
“Uh, clothes aren’t optional,” Zack said.
“I meant real clothes. I can stay in my PJs. See you sometime after nine and not a minute sooner.” She headed out of the kitchen.
Elain remained sitting there.
Lina noticed, even though Zack had stood to follow her back to their house. “What’s going through your noodle, poodle?” Lina asked her.
“There is something right under our noses. Literally. About this whole thing. And it’s going to drive me crazy until we piece it together.”
“Don’t push yourself. Like you keep telling me and Mai about our poofy skills. Maybe if we ease up it’ll come easier.”
Zack snorted. “God, can’t you say anything that doesn’t sound snarky or dirty?”
“Not at this time of night, no.” Lina patted Elain on the shoulder and they let themselves out.
Elain finally got up and went to lock the door behind them. Part of her wanted, needed to sleep.
Part of her knew she’d lay there in bed for a while if she tried.
She grabbed her phone, went down to the last guest room, and closed the door behind her. Sitting on the bed, she sent a text.
You awake?
She wasn’t really expecting a reply, so it shocked her when she received one less than thirty seconds later.
Are you dressed relatively appropriately?
Yes.
She found herself sitting cross-legged on Ryan’s sofa, the man wearing a robe and heading for the kitchen, his cell phone in his hand. With his hair disheveled, she realized she’d awakened him.
“Coffee, my dear?”
“Sure.” She got up to follow him. “Sorry I woke you up.”
He stopped and turned to look at her. “If you honestly think this is the first time I’ve ever been awakened out of a sound sleep, think again. Nothing is on fire—is it?”
“No.”
“Good. Nothing’s on fire, no one’s…dying?”
She shook her head.
“Excellent. Coffee it is. Or would you prefer tea?”
“I think tea.”
“Herbal tea, or Earl Grey?”
“Herbal, please.”
“Aces.” He filled an electric kettle and pulled out a canister of loose-leaf tea. “Caffeine-free, in case this doesn’t take very long.” He offered her a tired smile. “Now what happened?”
She didn’t bother feeling bashful. She had a feeling that the wildest sex she ever had or would have with her men probably barely blipped a two on Ryan’s freak-o-meter.
If that.
When she finished telling him about their kitchen confab, he was leaning against the counter, staring at the floor with his arms crossed, obviously deep in thought.
“I do believe you’re correct,” he finally said. “While yes, setting off a war because of a terroristic action would be completely within character for the cockatrice, I don’t think it’s as simple as that. If they wanted to instill true fear, they’d start small and work their way up. Build tension. Lots of smaller, soft targets. Shopping malls, sporting events, schools. While one large blast like that would certainly be catastrophic in nature, it would also instantaneously solidify the country. Think 9-11 or Pearl Harbor or JFK’s assassination. The London attack. Charlie Hebdo. Anything like that, it brings people together. And they would know that.”
“You so sure about that?”
“Yes. Because their MO over the centuries has been lots of little attacks to sow discord. Deep discord. Making people afraid to even leave their homes, making them distrust their neighbors.”
“So what aren’t we seeing?”
“I don’t know. You have no idea how frustrating that is for me to admit.”
After they fixed their mugs of tea and carried them back to the living room, each of them taking an end of the couch, he held out his arm.
“Show me.”
She set her mug down and took hold of his hand, sending him the vision.
After she finished, she picked up her mug again and watched Ryan. She didn’t speak. He looked deep in thought and she let the comfortable silence remain undisturbed between them.
“All right,” he eventually said. “Whoever she is, I agree with your assessment that she’s likely a cockatrice. Also, your bank vault theory is a valid one. There were some who survived the blast of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. They were injured, but they healed.”
“If you tell me Godzilla’s real and it’s a mutated cockatrice, I’m going to deck you.”
He smiled. “No. Although that is amusing.”
At least Elain felt somewhat vindicated that Ryan was agreeing with her. “So what are we missing?”
“Perhaps the idea of sex magick is a valid one. I would certainly think it’s worth giving it a chance if you don’t make any inroads before your next trip to Maine. And I also agree you absolutely should not do it anywhere near that rock pile.”
“You know, after we get this handled, I want that thing handled, however we need to do it.”
“I have been thinking about that. Perhaps we need to figure out where the house went and send it there. Someplace safe. A pocket of time, like Baba Yaga has.”
“How did she create that, anyway?�
�
“I don’t know. She has her secrets, just as I have mine.”
Elain didn’t want to admit what she knew so she kept her mouth shut. “Sorry again to bother you.”
He turned to face her. “All right, love. Rule one in this quirky little relationship we now have, quit apologizing to me. This isn’t a trivial matter. Had you awakened me simply because you couldn’t decide what color to paint your kitchen, yes, perhaps I’d be rather cross with you. You have a duty to contact me immediately, just as I have a duty to contact you, should need arise.”
“Okay. Sorry.” But she smiled, drawing a laugh from him.
“You are an interesting woman, Elain Pardie-Lyall. I am glad Fate brought you to this position.”
“Hope you’re still saying that a thousand or so years from now.”
“I’m sure I will be.”
She wasn’t sure if that was a comfort…or a chilling reminder of her new status.
Chapter Twenty
When the Triad met in Mai’s living room the next morning, Mai wore Scooby-Doo boxers and an oversized T-shirt. They all sat and listened as Elain told them about her discussion with Ryan.
“How do we know we can trust him?” Mai asked when Elain finished.
They stared at her.
She stared back. “I mean, seriously. We’ve just kind of fallen in with trusting him.”
Elain couldn’t tell them about a lot of things that gave Elain every reason to trust Ryan.
Like how he’d helped her move and re-bury a body.
He’s a body-moving kind of friend.
She somehow stifled her laugh. “He helped us save Mom,” she finally said. “And he had no reason to help us. Also, he helped us when Lacey was in trouble. And he helped get my guys to the hospital in time for Ellie’s birth. Besides, Baba Yaga trusts him.”
“I’m not sure I trust Baba Yaga,” Mai said.
Elain looked Lina, who hadn’t piped up to defend Ryan, square in the eyes. “He also has possession of a certain somethin’-somethin’ we don’t want a certain species to ever get their mitts on.”
Now Lina had the decency to blush. “We can trust him,” she said. “I don’t doubt him.” Lina leaned back, let go of her coffee mug with one hand, and flipped Elain a bird. “I love you, sis, but you know how to yank my panties right up into my asscrack and wedge ’em in there tight. You know that?”
Elain grinned. “Lubs you, too.”
“Why can’t he tell us more if he’s so powerful?” Mai asked.
“For the same reason we can’t figure this shit out yet,” Lina said. “He’s not omnipotent or omniscient. He’s just a helluva lot older than us.”
Zack snorted in amusement. “You said ‘hell.’”
Lina flipped him off. “Grow up.” But her tone belied her words.
But by the time they took a break for lunch, they were no closer to an answer. After relieving her mom in babysitting duties, Elain got Ellie and Connor fed and changed, then settled in on her own sofa with a sandwich to watch TV and zone out before their afternoon session began.
She’d found herself watching a show on the History channel about natural disasters in the US when Brodey bounced in through the back door, a smile on his face.
“Hi—”
“Shh!” She pointed to where the babies were asleep on the floor on a blanket, Juju and Bea flanking them.
“Oh, sorry.” He walked around and leaned over the back of the couch to kiss her. She was beginning to wish one of the other guys was there to watch the kids when Cail walked through the back door.
Like that, Brodey scooped Elain up from the couch and headed toward the bedroom with her in his arms. He pointed at Cail, then at where the babies were sleeping. “We’ll swap out,” Brodey said.
He closed the bedroom door behind them and she laughed as he dropped her onto the bed with a bounce. Then he landed next to her, grinning.
“Hiya.”
“Did you read my mind?”
“Only during that kiss.” He pounced, covering her body with his. “Thank the Goddess I wasn’t shoulder-deep in a pregnant cow this—”
“Ew! Okay, if you want to get laid, stop that line of talk right now.”
“Gotcha. Sorry.” He kissed her again. And again…
And it didn’t take long until they were both naked, he had his cock sheathed in a condom, and he was deliciously pounding her into the mattress with her hands pinned over her head and her ankles over his shoulders.
Just like she liked it.
He slanted his lips over hers in a crushing kiss and as she rocked her body against his as best she could, she felt her climb toward orgasm start.
It didn’t take long, either, before she was falling over the edge and taking Brodey with her, his moans and hers mixing as he took a few last, hard thrusts inside her before falling still.
His kisses turned tender, gentle. “Love you so much, baby,” he whispered.
She smiled, stroking his cheek. “Love you, too. Another month or so, I’ll be bottle-feeding her and can get back on the pill.”
He grinned. “I know this is going to sound contradictory, but while I can’t wait until we have more kids, I’m also going to enjoy the hell out of you not being pregnant.”
She bumped her hips against him. “That makes two of us.”
She was still lying there and enjoying her post orgasmic bliss while Brodey went to clean up, got dressed, and left the bedroom after giving her one last kiss. Cail walked through the bedroom door almost immediately, stripping as he flashed her a wide grin.
“Hello, sweetie.”
She crooked a finger at him. “We keep this up, we’ll need another condom run soon.”
He looked down at his cock, which stood out straight and rigid. “It’s up, all right.” He climbed up the bed and took the condom she handed him. “And yeah, I think you’re right.” He rolled it on and stretched out on top of her, taking long, languid strokes inside her pussy that started her on a slow climb toward the peak again.
She wrapped one hand in his hair, her other raking her nails down his back. “I missed this,” she whispered in his ear.
“Me, too, baby.”
She knew he knew what she meant. Not just the sex, but the intimacy. She’d never trade her men for anything, but sometimes it was nice having them one at a time, all to herself, and them able to have her alone, too. They didn’t mind sharing her because they loved her.
But it sometimes didn’t seem fair to her that she wound up with the better end of the deal.
By the time they had both come and were stretched out next to each other, there was a soft rap on the door and Ain stuck his head in. “Feel like a hat trick?”
She giggled. “I always have time for my Prime.”
Cail gave her one last kiss before rolling out of bed. “Thank you, babe. Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
She thought maybe her Prime would repeat his brothers’ performances, but he pleasantly surprised her, sliding naked into bed with her and draping her over his body, snuggling her tightly against him.
“Not in a rush?” she asked.
“Nope. Why, are you?”
“Nope, but I’m supposed to meet up with Mai and Lina again in…” She lifted her head to look at the clock. “An hour. And Juju and Bea probably ate what was left of my sandwich.”
He stroked a hand up and down her spine as he nuzzled the top of her head. “Let them wait if we’re a little late.” Something about his tone of voice tugged at her.
She looked up into his face. “What’s wrong?”
He obviously didn’t want to answer her, and it took him a moment to compose his thoughts. “Where’d you go last night? After Mai, Lina, and Zack left?”
“To Ryan’s to talk. I had another vision about the bomb, and I wanted to run the new details by him. Why?”
She felt some of the tension melt from him. He kissed the top of her head. “Okay.”
“Why?”
“Because I sensed you walk down the hall to the last bedroom. When I realized you hadn’t come back to bed, I went looking for you and couldn’t find you.”
Now she felt bad. “Sorry. You could have texted me.”
“I didn’t know where you were. I wasn’t sure if it was work-related or not.”
“I didn’t mean to worry you.”
He stroked her chin. “I know, baby.”
“You really are a kinder, gentler Prime now, aren’t you?”
“I have to be. You’re right that I was a hard-ass before.” He let out a sigh. “I don’t even know why I was. It’s like when we adopted Connor, my world shifted. In a good way. Then Ellie, and…” Another sigh. “I don’t want to be that guy anymore.”
Elain hoped she didn’t give anything away. Yeah, there was a damned good reason his world had shifted.
She’d taken away his memory, at his request, of killing the cockatrice baby so long ago.
The weight of that on his shoulders throughout the years had been a heavy burden, indeed. Trying to…
Loophole his way around his brothers ever knowing.
She sat up on top of him and reached for a condom. “I know a Prime in need of a distraction.” She ripped the package open and rolled it down his now stiff cock. “So let’s get to distracting you.”
Taking her time, she slowly impaled herself on his shaft, watching his face, enjoying every sensation, trying to reconnect with his soul in this familiar way. It wasn’t long until she’d managed to come one more time before riding him to his climax.
He didn’t make her move even though he eased his cock out of her so she didn’t have to move from where she was draped over him, his arms around her.
She felt his breath against her scalp. “Promise me you’ll always be careful,” he softly said. “Please?”
She lifted her head and looked into his handsome grey eyes. “I promise I’ll always be careful.”
“It’d kill me to lose you.”
“Don’t worry. From everything I’ve heard, we’re going to be around for a long, long time.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Power of Three Page 20